Royal Brunei to Expand Melbourne Flights

Louise Asher Royal Brunei Airlines will be increasing its services between Melbourne and Bandar Seri Begawan from four-weekly to daily starting March 25. The enhanced services will improve connections and travel options for passengers travelling between Melbourne and London, Dubai, Manila, Bangkok, Sabah or Sarawak, the flag carrier said in a statement. Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Louise Asher, said: “South-east Asia is one of Victoria’s fastest growing markets, and these additional services will enable greater tourism and trade linkages and opportunities across this valuable growth market.” Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, said: “In addition to a link to Brunei, Royal Brunei’s extensive Asian and European networks support Melbourne’s two most significant longhaul markets, China and the UK.” Chris Woodruff Meanwhile, Melbourne Airport handled 6.6 million international passengers in 2011, an 11 per cent rise over the year before. The airport’s key international growth markets were from Asia, with passengers from China up by 23.2 per cent, the Philippines up 17.3 per cent, Singapore up 10.5 per cent, Indonesia up 10.4 per cent and Taiwan up 10.0 per cent. Traditional markets also experienced growth, with nationals from New Zealand up 11.1 per cent, the US up 5.2 per cent and the UK up 2.1 per cent.